Anthony Joshua waits for confirmation of Wladimir Klitschko bout

Anthony Joshua is still waiting to hear if his dream world heavyweight title unification bout against Wladimir Klitschko will go ahead.

Joshua and Klitschko had agreed terms on a December showdown in Manchester but the bout has been thrown into doubt over issues with the sanctioning bodies.

Klitschko is reportedly reluctant to fight without at least one of the WBA or WBO titles on the line - and both organisations are yet to confirm this will be the case.

Anthony Joshua, pictured, may be forced to wait for his super-fight against Wladimir Klitschko

Now Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn has said he is looking for alternative options for Joshua in December should the multi-million pound unification fight fall flat.

Hearn told Sky Sports: "The deal is there but we are awaiting sanctioning from the WBA.

"Both teams have written to the WBA to request sanctioning of our fight, but Wladimir wants the WBA belt to be on the line so until that is approved we cannot move forward.

"We expect news in the next few days, but in the meantime I believe both sides will be looking at alternative options for December 10 while we hope to get the news we need to make the fight happen."

Klitschko has been without a title since losing them to Tyson Fury last year and has a number of options with the WBA and WBO belts now vacant.

One possibility is that the Ukrainian will agree instead to fight highly-ranked American Joseph Parker for the WBO belt in Germany - arguably an easier option than facing Joshua in front of his home fans.

Meanwhile if Joshua is forced to put a Klitschko fight on hold he could instead face Bulgaria's Kubrat Pulev or even fast-track a huge domestic showdown with David Haye.